Thursday, February 25, 2010

Public Transportation in Jakarta [1]

The strong heat of Jakarta welcomes you at Soekarno-Hatta airport. Soon enough, you (specifically addressing Jakarta-first-timer) may experience the big fuzz every traveler mumbles about Jakarta all year long: traffic!

Yes, public transportation in Jakarta can be considered as a BIG headache!

As soon as you get off Soekarno-Hatta airport (assuming that you have no escort) you will be magically drawn into the mass of taxi drivers offering you to have their services.

Hmm.. what should you do?

The best thing is to order a taxi from inside the airport. You should check on the taxi desk nearby the baggage area. The cost will be around 200.000 IDR, and you will be driven straight to your destination. Rent a car is also an option, but the cost is higher, around 500.000 IDR.DAMRIThe second best thing (backpackers, this one is for you) is to hop on the DAMRI (Djawatan Angkoetan Motor Repoeblik Indonesia). It's like airport-city shuttle bus. The buses are nice, clean, with AirCo (don't worry), and luggage dock. It only cost you around 20.000-30.000 IDR to get to the city center. From the city center you can continue by taxi (see below).

You can ask the airport staff, where to sit and wait for the DAMRIs. The DAMRI starts very early, around 4 am. and the interval between the DAMRIs are 15-20 minutes.

Here are some DAMRI routes:

Soekarno-Hatta Airport - Blok M (bus terminal, south Jakarta). IF you are heading to west/south Jakarta (Slipi, Semanggi) you can ask the driver to drop you there.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport - Gambir (train station, central Jakarta). IF you accomodation is located on the central Jakarta (Kebon Sirih, KH. Wahid Hasyim) you can ask the driver to drop you there.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport - Serang, Banten (West Java)

Soekarno-Hatta Airport - Bogor (West Java). The cost to get directly to Bogor is a little higher, around 30.000 IDR. But it's considered very cheap, if you compare it with taxis.

Click here to see DAMRI routes and hours.Of course, you can also go to the airport using the DAMRIs.

...NEXT!So, since you are now in town... How do you get yourself to places? Unfortunately, Jakarta has not yet equipped with fancy rapid transportation system such as the subways, or trams. But we do have several options :)TAXIIf you are blessed with extra money on your pocket, then use taxi to run around Jakarta. Just go to you hotel lobby, usually the taxis are already lined up there, waiting to serve you. The standard taxis i recommend are from:

* Blue Bird (light blue with some kind of wing atop), to order by phone: +62 21 7917 1234

Taxi Pusaka Nuri, Pusaka Satria (also light blue, but different logo) are also part of the Blue Bird group. Please do beware that there are a lot of "Blue bird" imitation - as in the colour and the logo. Make sure that there are "Blue Bird Group" stated on the taxi before you take the ride. Besides blue bird, you can also ask for a more sleek and fancy taxi, Silver Bird (black ones). The cost is slightly higher that blue bird.

even the picture looks fancy

Some taxis are considerably cheaper than blue bird. You can see the sign of "tarif lama" or"tarif bawah" or basic fee usually written on its window. Here are some "tarif bawah" taxis that you may trust:* Express (white), to order by phone: +62 21 2650 9000

Express taxi also offer a big luxurious transport using Toyota Alphard. It's called Tiara Express. To order by phone: +62 21 2650 8000* Putra (dark blue), to order by phone: +62 21 7817771

* Trans Cab (bright yellow, like those in NY), to order by phone: +62 21 583 55 500. This one is nice because it has cable tv on it that you can watch during your trip :) takes your mind off the busy road.

Some TIPS:

If you are (unwillingly) stranded somewhere in Jakarta at night, you can always call the taxis. But if you forget to write down taxi phone number, and you can only find the "suspicious taxi", always make sure that the driver will use the argo (meter). Otherwise, you may find yourself giving away thousands IDRs for a short ride.

Even if you take a ride on the taxi, please make sure that you have the specific destination/address at hand (esp. when you are looking for an address - some friends/relatives' place) so that it will ease the driver too.

You can also talk with the driver to "bond" in some way that the taxi ride will be more enjoyable :)

There are also another public transportation that you can take. Let me start with the big and shiny one...

TRANS JAKARTATrans Jakarta, or the local often calls "BUSWAY" - which actually refers to the bus lane, currently have 9 routes called "koridor" that can take you to most places in Jakarta.

KORIDOR 1 (Blok M - Kota)*Halte Kota: Stop here if you wish to continue you journey by train (Station Kota) or to Mangga Dua shopping district (with a short angkot ride).*Halte Glodok*Halte Olimo*Halte Mangga Besar*Halte Sawah Besar*Halte Harmoni: Stop here if you want to transfer to Koridor 2, 3, and 8 (holiday only)*Halte Monas: Stop here if you wish to go to Monas (the national monument and iconic symbol of Jakarta) or to pay a visit to Museum Gajah (the national museum).*Halte Bank Indonesia*Halte Sarinah: Stop here if you want to go to Sarinah, Jl. Sabang, or Jl. Jaksa. This area is blessed with 24-hour food, late night snack, and cozy place to hang out (with beer, of course).*Halte Bundaran HI: Stop here if you want to go to Plaza Indonesia and EX mall.*Halte Tosari: Stop here if you want to go to Grand Indonesia.*Halte Dukuh Atas: Stop here if you want to transfer to Koridor 4 and 6.*Halte Setia Budi*Halte Karet*Halte Benhill: Stop here if you want to go to Plaza Semanggi.*Halte Polda Metro: Stop here if you want to go to Pasific Place (walk a little bit).*Halte Gelora Bung Karno: Stop here if you want to go to FX Mall (walk a little bit).*Halte Bundara Senayan: Stop here if you want to go to Ratu Plaza. Get to the back of Ratu Plaza, and voila! you are already in Plaza Senayan. Another 5 minutes walk, and you get to Senayan City :)*Halte Masjid Agung*Halte Blok M: Stop here if you want to go to Blok M area.

Hopefully, the trans Jakarta transportation system can be fully operated by 2012.. I mean , before we all die because of the end of the world hehehe *jk. Then, it will be so much easier to transfer from one place to another. Easier, and hopefully, faster.

NEXT!There are more about transportation in Jakarta: buses, angkots, bemos, etc. on the (upcoming) second [2] part.